This letter was originally published in October 1999, and is as relevant today as it was 26 years ago as it pertains to a recommendation to mitigate the ever present and constantly increasing traffic congestion on Colorado Highway 82 as it approaches, and enters, the city of Aspen.

I have given the concept of “light rail” deep consideration over a long period of time, having approached this subject with the same diligence I apply to business matters. My opinion is profoundly influenced by my long-standing commitment to the environment. I always support whatever is required to sustain the highest quality of life reasonably possible for our extended community, the entire Roaring Fork Valley. I know that my opinion, like so many other like-minded Aspenites, takes courage and vision. It requires a long-term point of view, not one that is limited to immediate gratification which might result in a diminished quality of life for future generations; not how it will be in five years, but how it will be 25 or 50 years and beyond.

Having arrived in Aspen in 1960, I have already resided in the Valley 65 years. We are now enjoying the fruits of former visionaries who created for us in this Valley a lifestyle superior to most other communities in our country. I encourage all of us to endeavor to, likewise, deliver to future generations a comparable legacy. If all of us are committed to making a difference; if we are willing to make sacrifices for a better quality of life, and be willing to embrace the concept of “light rail” as a component of a master plan that relies heavily on public transportation (including buses) for the Valleys’ long-term future, and let go of our selfish auto-driven habits and think, with vision, then we will absolutely make a positive impact that will benefit us now and future generations who will inherit an environment that is fundamentally our creation. Light Rail would achieve that end.

Donald J. Fleisher, the forgotten Aspenite.

Carbondale